Hoosiers search for 1st Big Ten win in Michigan

The IU women’s basketball team will look to avenge its loss from earlier in the year when it battles the Michigan Wolverines at noon Sunday in Assembly Hall.

The Hoosiers (5-20, 0-12) fell to Michigan (18-7, 7-5) on Jan. 22 in the first matchup of the year between the two schools, 66-48.

IU will also try to get its first Big Ten victory of the year against one of its next two unranked opponents awaiting during the remainder of the season.

After Michigan, the Hoosiers play Wisconsin on Feb. 23 at home before traveling to No. 19 Purdue for what could be a difficult victory.

IU Coach Felisha Legette-Jack said she likes her team’s chances the second time around.

“I’m excited because it gives our team a chance to get out there again with somebody that they’ve already experienced before,” she said.

“The second time, it’s not so frightening. I know what they can do. At the end of the day, you’ve got to have a game plan, but I think our kids are more prepared to go up against them a second time because they’re so young.”

Legette-Jack said junior Aulani Sinclair and senior Danilsa Andujar are the only two players on her squad who are familiar with every Big Ten team, given the youth and inexperience on her roster.

Another key to victory for the Hoosiers will be rebounding, Legette-Jack said. In their closest loss of Big Ten play, the Hoosiers out-rebounded Illinois by 15 and only lost by one point.

In their last two wins before conference play began, they won the battle of the boards in both matches.

“It’s who I am,” Legette-Jack said of rebounding. “I look at the things that I’ve done in my history as a player, and that’s how I think that we’ve got opportunities because of the rebounding situation. I think a really significant piece of the game is the opportunity to get in there and do the grunt work.”

Legette-Jack said in order to keep up its rebounding, IU will need to get bigger contributions from the guards.

Junior guard Jasmine McGhee is second on the team in rebounding with 145 in the season, but the next-closest guard is sophomore Andrea Newbauer with 56.

“I think that the best rebounder, particularly when you play a matchup, is supposed to be a guard,” Legette-Jack said.

“The post is supposed to hold them off, and the guard comes in uncontested and gets in there to do some things. We need Candyce (Ussery) and Newbauer to jump in there as well.”

McGhee also leads the team in scoring at 12.8 points per game.

The Hoosiers will try to shut down Michigan junior Rachel Sheffer and senior Courtney Boylan, who average 13.3 and 13.1 points per contest and scored 16 and 15 points against the Hoosiers in their previous match-up, respectively.

Although Legette-Jack said IU’s loss to Illinois on Sunday was heartbreaking, she said she continues to see the glass as half full.

“It makes it great,” she said. “We got excited about it. We realize that if we play a whole 40-minute game, there’s a possibility greatness can come for us, too.”